New Century Financial Group LLC Buys New Position in Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK)

New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Upwork Inc. (NASDAQ:UPWK - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 67,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $886,000. Upwork accounts for 1.0% of New Century Financial Group LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. New Century Financial Group LLC owned about 0.05% of Upwork at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UPWK. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Upwork by 1,235.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,072 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767 shares during the last quarter. Nkcfo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Upwork during the fourth quarter worth about $82,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Upwork in the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury purchased a new position in Upwork during the 4th quarter valued at $180,000. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new position in Upwork in the fourth quarter worth about $191,000. 77.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UPWK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research cut shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $18.00 target price on shares of Upwork in a report on Monday, June 2nd. JMP Securities boosted their price target on Upwork from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Upwork in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Upwork from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Upwork currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.67.

Upwork Price Performance

NASDAQ:UPWK traded down $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $13.83. The stock had a trading volume of 2,028,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,265,265. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.82 billion, a PE ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $14.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a current ratio of 3.39. Upwork Inc. has a 52 week low of $8.43 and a 52 week high of $18.14.

Upwork (NASDAQ:UPWK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $192.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $188.49 million. Upwork had a return on equity of 50.83% and a net margin of 28.02%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.22 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Upwork Inc. will post 0.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Upwork

In other Upwork news, CEO Hayden Brown sold 9,075 shares of Upwork stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $118,610.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,223,741 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,994,294.87. The trade was a 0.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Erica Gessert sold 4,316 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.07, for a total transaction of $56,410.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,103,551.15. This trade represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 516,702 shares of company stock worth $8,776,326. Insiders own 7.50% of the company's stock.

Upwork Company Profile

Upwork Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates a work marketplace that connects businesses with various independent professionals and agencies in the United States, India, the Philippines, and internationally. The company's work marketplace provides access to talent with various skills across a range of categories, including administrative support, sales and marketing, design and creative, and customer service, as well as web, mobile, and software development.